Chapter 17 – Listening To The Troubles Of The Girl, Agnis (1)

“This is the end of the “Demon Castle Guided Tour”.
Thank you for your hard work Thor-sama.”

A few hours later we came back to my room.
Thanks to Mabel, I was able to go around most of the rooms in the castle.

We enjoyed the view of the Demon territory on the balcony and visited the kitchen managed by the dwarven chef.
We had left-over steamed potatoes there and he showed me various cooking utensils.
In the library, I was able to read the history book of the Demon territory.
We stopped by the office of Demon Lord Rukie and said hello.
I also met with Chancellor Kelve.
I was guided to a bathhouse that can only be used by the demon Lord, the higher ranking demons, and the guests of the demon castle (only a tour because the bath is not heated yet).

And we came back to my room.

For the time being, it turned out that there are various races in the Demon territory.
As an alchemist under the direct control of Her Majesty, it seems necessary to create items that match the characteristics of the race.
I still have to study this area further.

“It was helpful in many ways.
Thank you, Mabel.”

“You are welcome.
If you have any questions, please ask away.”

That said, Mabel laughed.

“Thor-sama is probably going to use the bathhouse the most in the future?”

“That’s right.
I like the bath, so I’m thinking of using it once in a while.”

“Yes.
Basically, you can use that place freely.
However, please be careful when there is an “Occupied” sign at the entrance.
There is a large rest area right after you enter so be careful of meeting random people.”

“Thank you, I’ll be careful.”

“And … about the general and Agnis.”

General Reisenga and his daughter Agnis?
I feel like I was being glared at by the General but I’m still interested in that armor.

“… I think it’s better to talk to Thor-sama about it.
Actually ──”

Mabel was interrupted by a knocking sound.

“Excuse me.
Thor Regas-sama.
Is Mabel Refrain here?”

“It’s the chief maid.
Excuse me, Thor-sama.”

When Mabel opened the door, a maid with a horn on her forehead stood in the hallway.

“What can I help you with? Chief maid.”

“Her Majesty the Demon Lord is calling Mabel.
Something about “Isn’t it better to prepare 3 matching teacups?”

“Muu.”

Mabel smiled and looked at Thor.
It’s probably about the tea party.
It seems that she wants to talk to Mabel about whether or not to have matching teacups.

“It’s ok if you go, Mabel.
By the way, I think matching teacups are good.”

“I understand.
Thor-sama.”

Mabel picks up the skirt of her maid outfit and bows.
Then, with the chief maid, she walked away to the office of the Demon Lord Rukie.

“Then I’m going to organizing the warehouse ──”

I thought so, but I’m tired because of walking around the castle today.
I’m probably tired because I’m in an unfamiliar place.
I’m sweating a lot too.
I want to change my clothes and relax ──

“Should I take a bath?”

I remembered the bathhouse that I was guided to.
It seems that I can use that place freely.

It’s a place used by the Demon Lord and Higher Ranked Demons, but Demon Lord Rukie has a private bathroom, and High Ranked Demons, for example, General Reisenga, can just bathe in the river.
So according to Mabel few people use it.

Let’s go check it out.
If I see the “Occupied” sign, I can just come back.
Besides, I was finally taught the way around Demon Castle.
Let’s review it before I forget.

I started changing clothes and preparing towels.

The bathhosue is on the first floor of Demon Castle.
The double door has a “vacant” sign on it.
There is a bulletin board next to the door, which shows the time when you can take a bath and the names of the people who mainly use it.

I can use the bath from 6 pm.
Before that, only the shower is available.
There are a few users from 6:00 to 8:00, and after 8:00, Chancellor Kelve uses it.

When I open the door, there should be a resting room inside and beyond that is change room.
The men’s bath is on the left and the women’s bath is on the right.
However, if Her Majesty the Demon Lord is using it, both men’s and women’s baths cannot be used.
This is probably to hide the identity of the Demon Lord.

After that, [Being Drunk in the bath is prohibited], [For races with scale-like skin, to not hurt the person beside you, please keep an appropriate distance from them], [Mermaids are prohibited from submerging in the water for more than 20 minutes, as to not make everyone worried], [Prohibition of mixed bathing with familiars] ── Various detailed rules are written.

It’s a little past 6 o’clock now.
The bathhouse should be open now.
There is also no “occupied” sign on the doors.
After thinking for a moment, I opened the bathhouse’s door.

When I opened the door, there was a large resting area as expected.

There is a couch and a water fountain for rehydration was near the wall.
There are two doors behind it.
It seems to be the entrance to the dressing rooms for men and women.
There are no signs of people in the resting area.
I sighed with relief.
Because I was nervous, I wondered if my sweat was dripping on the floor so I looked around, and found armour on the floor.

It was an armor with [Fire Resistance] and resembles the one worn by General Reisenga’s daughter, Agnis.

If I look closely, two “earth attributes” are really added to this armor.
It seems that strong flame resistance is realized by stacking earth attributes.
The material is soft so that it can move easily.
It’s a pretty valuable item.
But the joints on the armor are loose.
Perhaps they were continued to be exposed to unbearable flames.

I want to repair it, but the owner of this armor is the daughter of General Reisenga.
I can’t justify my reason for touching it.
And it’s not just armor.
Next to the armor is a helmet, and behind it are a pair of armor for the hand and foot.

Where is the owner of these things?
I’m certain that there was a “Vacant” sign on the bathhouse door.
Besides, the dressing room is behind a door, and this is a resting area.
It’s not a place to take off your armor.

Thinking about that, I looked around … I noticed a small door in the corner of the resting area.

Above the open door is a sign with [Salamander’s Boiling water place] written.
The hot water in the bath seems to be leaking out of the room.

Speaking of salamander, he was a subordinate of Ifrit.
It wouldn’t be strange for Agnis-san to visit.
And … Looking at General Reisenga, I feel like people would be angry if I pass by without a greeting.
I’ll use the bath, so I should at least say a word.
With that in mind, when I approached the door that was still open ──

“Hey, hey.
It’s not ok to be mischievous.
Mouu.”

I heard a high-spirited voice.

Three Salamanders are flying around in the dimly lit room.
The size of Salamander is around 1 meter.
It was a lizard with bat-like wings on its back.
Clad with crimson flames, every time it breathes, flames erupt from their mouth and nose.

At the center of the salamanders was a girl with red hair.
While her flame-like hair sways, she moves around as if she was dancing.

Every time she reaches out, a flame erupts from her fingertip.
The flame is sucked into a boiler, with a sizzling noise, steam rises up from the tank.
A metal tube extends from the tank.
From the direction the tube is going, it may be connected to the bath.
I see the bath is boiled like that.
It’s a good reference.

If the flames are too strong, Salamander, who is in charge of controlling the stove, pats her cheeks.

The girl laughs, “I’m sorry, I’m not good at controlling.” and keeps a distance from the stove.
The Salamanders perches on her shoulder and screams with satisfaction.
The flame that floats from the girl’s hair and the flame that overflows from the wings of Salamander are intertwined and become one flame.

Maybe because she’s happy, the girl hugs Salamander.
Salamander is buried in between her chest and he turns his head around as if embarrassed.
I just noticed that she was naked.

Of course, she is.
Both the girl and the salamander are clad in flames.
There is no clothing that can withstand the flames of a Flame Giants’ descendants and the Flame Spirits.
The figure of the girl in flames was so natural that I didn’t notice before that she was naked.

It’s a bad habit of mine to be absorbed in beautiful things, including people and items.
Thinking so, I hurriedly moved away.

But it was too late.
Salamander was already aware of my existence.
So when I moved, the Salamanders also moved.
They looked at me in unison and growled at me.
The girl who saw their action also looked this way── and made eye contact with me.

Crimson eyes ── Eyes of the same color as General Reisenga.
The skin of the girl Agnis is dyed in a cherry blossom color.
Then to scarlet and then to deep crimson.
An orange scale-like thing emerged from her skin.
Her Crimson hair rose like a flame ── swaying ─ and a flame emerges─ ─

“──── !?”

Flames shot out from the girl, Agnis.

“” Guru ──── !! “”

Immediately after, the salamanders hurled themselves at the door.
Just before the flame goes out of the boiling room, an iron door slams shut.
Still, the flame leaked a little, so

“Launch [Ultra-small simple warehouse].
Store flames!”

I took out a palm-sized [Simple Warehouse] from my pocket.
When I open the warehouse door with my fingernail, With a fwish sound the flames were sucked in.
The inhaled flame continued to burn in the [Simple Warehouse] for a while, but there was nothing for it to burn in the large empty space, and it soon disappeared.

“Yeah.
It’s unexpectedly useful.”

After making the [Simple Warehouse], I also made a small version just in case.
Of course, the performance is the same as that of a large [Simple Warehouse].
Even though it is small, there is still a large storage space inside.
Enough to inhale the flames.

“── Ah,aaaaaaaaaaa! What have I done? Shooting a flame at the guest of her majesty.
Wh, what should I do …”

I heard a tearful voice from the other side of the door.

“I, I have to call a recovery magician right away … Aaah.
But what do I say to my dad … if he found out that Agnis was playing with Salamanders … these kids will be punished……”

“It’s fine”

“……eh?”

“I was prepared for something like this, so I’m safe.”

I knocked on the door and then called out.

“And … I’m sorry.
I was just fascinated and forgot to say something.”

“……N, no”

“Why don’t we talk after getting dressed for the time being?”

“Ah, yes.
Um, that, I … Agnis …”

A confused voice came from the other side of the door.

“The clothes are … Only the armor there.”

“Only the armor?”

“Agnis can’t control the flame well … If it doesn’t have [Flame Resistance], it will burn immediately even if I wear it …”

“……So that’s it”

In the day, when I said, “I want to fix the armor,” I feel like I understand why General Reisenga was angry.
Because Agnis has the blood of Ifrit, she has the ability to fire flames.
However, it seems that she cannot control the flame well by herself.
That’s why she can’t wear ordinary clothes.
Because it burns out quickly.
Agnis can only wear flame-resistant armor …

If so, I would have to strip her naked in order to fix her armor.
… That’s why General Reisenga got angry too.
It’s like saying, “Please let me mess with your daughter’s underwear” at the first meeting.

“I’m going out.
Call me when you’re done wearing the armor.”

“………… Yess”

“”Gururu””

I got a faint reply and Salamanders’ growl from the other side of the door.
After confirming that, I went out into the hallway.

The Salamander mentioned in this chapter is no the animal salamander.
It’s the flame spirit salamander.
The one with undine, gnome, and sylph.